As part of a state-wide project, Haryana Government is now making a mandatory move for all public buildings, like schools, health centers, offices etc., to have rooftop solar panels. The project will be first implemented in Gurugram and Faridabad due to increasing pollution level in both the cities. Recently, WHO has listed Gurugram as the 11th most polluted city in the world.
PK Mahapatra, additional chief secretary, new and renewable energy department, Haryana said, “This announcement was made after the WHO report. We were discussing how we could take green energy initiative further. And I suggested that we must start with Gurugram and Faridabad, the two prominent cities in the state.”
He further said that in order to tackle the increasing pollution problem, the government wants every public office to have its own solar power generation system. Tangible change would be visible in that direction in next six months. The government is also working on modalities as to how they should go about it in schools, anganwadis and offices, among others.
Solar power: Measures taken till date
- In September 2014, the Haryana government had announced a grid-connected solar rooftop policy and made it mandatory for every new home across the state with an area up to 500 square yards or more to install a solar power system. The policy was also applicable for commercial and industrial consumers apart from hospitals, malls, and hotels.
- Further, in 2016, the Haryana government had allowed all property owners to install grid-connected rooftop solar power plants of capacity ranging from 1 KW to 1 MW under state net-metering regulations.
In order to attract more consumers, the government has also announced subsidy to consumers who will purchase solar panels and other equipment from affiliated sellers.